Data processing apparatus, data processing method, recording medium and program

ABSTRACT

A data processing apparatus capable of recording the user&#39;s operation histories in a small capacity, a data processing method, a recording medium and a program. A state transition detector unit  52  in a CPU  21  detects the transition of a state of contents. A metric value-setting unit in the CPU  21  sets a reference value as a metric value. A metric value conversion unit  54  in the CPU  21  converts, into a metric value, the transition of a state of contents detected by the state transition detector unit  52.  A contents operation history database  61  in an HDD  26  accumulates the metric values converted by the metric value conversion unit  54  and stores them. The invention can be applied to a hard disk recorder.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a data processing apparatus, a data processingmethod, a recording medium and a program. More specifically, theinvention relates to a data processing apparatus capable of recordingdata in a small recording capacity without losing user's operationhistory and important data, a data processing method, a recording mediumand a program.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, there has been developed a hard disk recorder forrecording television broadcast. Therefore, a user is allowed to record aprogram in a hard disk of a large capacity and to watch (reproduce) therecorded program on a day and at a time different from when the programwas really broadcast irrespective of the real programming.

Owing to a progress in the digital technology, further, it is madepossible to multiple-transmit EPGs (electronic program guides) inclusiveof data related to the programs and channels simultaneously with thevideo and audio signals. By using the EPGs, further, there is providedservice that the user can select or make a reservation of the program toenjoy watching and recording the program.

With the conventional recording/reproducing apparatus, however, the userhad to select and erase the data which he considered not necessary forhim at the time of managing the contents data that are recorded.

Further, tremendous number of contents can now be stored accompanying anincrease in the capacity of the recording medium such as a hard disk,and the user is becoming no longer capable of grasping the tremendousnumber of contents that are stored.

As a result, it is becoming difficult for the user to select thecontents that are not necessary for him, and the user finds it verycumbersome to carry out the operation for erasing the contents that arenot necessary.

Besides, it could happen that the recorded contents in which the user isinterested are buried in a tremendous number of contents that arestored, or are inadvertently erased prior to watching the contents.

Several methods have been known to solve the above problems. Accordingto one method, in viewing a time shift of a TV program, the reproducingoperation is recorded in a binary form at the speed of reproduction, thenumber of times of repetition of reproduction is recorded and, besides,it is judged whether the contents are read out up to the end. From thesedata, the degree of user's interest in the above operation iscalculated, and a program preferred by the user is offered (see, forexample, JP-A-2002-44542).

According to a second method, weighting of the operation is changeddepending upon the content of operation in a recording/reproducingapparatus which holds the operation history of the user automaticallyrecords the programs which the user wishes to watch (see, for example,JP-A-2001-86420).

According to a third method, a program is transmitted by putting aprogram number (program ID) thereto at the time of broadcasting theprogram by using a device for collecting history data such as programrating, and the received programs that were not watched are judged andtotalized (see, for example, JP-A-1999-285033).

According to the prior art, however, the data of operation event itselfare directly recorded at the time of recording the operation history ofthe program like recorded on Jan. 1, 2001, reproduced on Jan. 10, 2001,reproduced on Jan. 11, 2001, erased on Jan. 15, 2001. Therefore, theoperation history is stored in a tremendously large capacity.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

This invention was accomplished in view of the above circumstances andhas an object of recording the operation history in a small storagecapacity without losing important data.

A data processing apparatus of the invention is characterized byincluding:

-   -   contents ID-obtaining mechanism for obtaining IDs of the        contents that are obtained;    -   detector for detecting the transition of the state of contents;    -   converter for converting the transition of the state of contents        detected by the detector into a metric value; and    -   recording mechanism for recording the metric value converted by        the converter together with the IDs of the contents.

The recording mechanism accumulates the metric values to record theoperation history of the contents.

The data processing apparatus of the invention further comprises userID-obtaining mechanism for obtaining a user ID, and the recordingmechanism further records the user ID.

A data processing method of the invention is characterized by includingthe steps of:

-   -   obtaining IDs of the contents that are obtained;    -   detecting the transition of the state of contents;    -   converting the transition of the state of contents detected in        the step of detection into a metric value; and    -   recording the metric value converted in the step of conversion        together with the IDs of the contents.

A program in a recording medium of the invention is characterized byincluding the steps of:

-   -   obtaining IDs of the contents that are obtained;    -   detecting the transition of the state of contents;    -   converting the transition of the state of contents detected in        the step of detection into a metric value; and    -   recording the metric value converted in the step of conversion        together with the IDs of the contents.

A program of the invention is characterized by having a computer executethe steps of:

-   -   obtaining IDs of the contents that are obtained;    -   detecting the transition of the state of contents;    -   converting the transition of the state of contents detected in        the step of detection into a metric value; and    -   recording the metric value converted in the step of conversion        together with the IDs of the contents.

In this invention, the transition of the state of contents is convertedinto a metric value, and the converted metric value is recorded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the constitution of a hardware ofa hard disk recorder;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the constitution of functionmodules of the hardware of the hard disk recorder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a contents management processing;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a method of setting metric values forthe transition of the state corresponding to the operation;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating relationships between the states ofcontents and the metric values;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the disposal of the contents;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a structure of operation history data;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another structure of operation historydata; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the constitution of a personalcomputer.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference tothe drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the constitution of a hard diskrecorder 1. The hard disk recorder 1 is constituted as a single unit andcan be mounted an AV equipment, and can be constituted integrally with aTV receiver such as a set top box (STB).

Broadcast waves received by an antenna that is not shown are fed to atuner 11. The broadcast waves comply with a predetermined format and maycontain, for example, EPG data. The broadcast waves may be those ofsatellite broadcast waves, ground waves, wired waves or wireless waves.

Being controlled by a CPU 21, the tuner 11 tunes or selects broadcastwaves of a predetermined channel, and sends the received data to ademodulator unit 12. The constitution of the tuner 11 may be suitablymodified or expanded depending upon whether the broadcast waves that aretransmitted are analog waves or digital waves. The demodulator unit 12demodulates the received data that are digital-modulated and outputsthem to a decoder 13.

In the case of, for example, a digital satellite broadcast, the digitaldata received by the tuner 11 and demodulated by the demodulator unit 12are in the form of a transport stream in which have been multiplexed AVdata compressed by an MPEG2 system and data to be broadcast. The AV datacontain video data and audio data that constitute the body of contentsto be broadcast, and the data to be broadcast contain data (e.g., EPGdata) that accompanies the body of contents to be broadcast.

The decoder 13 separates the transport stream fed from the demodulatorunit 12 into the AV data compressed by the MPEG2 system and the data tobe broadcast (e.g., EPG data). The separated data to be broadcast arefed to an HDD 26 through a bus 19 and an HDD (hard disk drive) interface(I/F) 25, and are saved therein.

When it has been designated to directly output the received contents,the decoder 13 separates the AV data of the specified channel into thecompressed video data and the compressed audio data. The separated audiodata are PCM (pulse code modulation) decoded and are output to a speaker32 through a mixer (MIX) 15. Further, the separated video data areexpanded and are output to a display 33 via a composer 17.

When it has been designated to record the received contents in the HDD26, the decoder 13 outputs the AV data of the elementary stream of aspecified channel to the HDD 26 through the bus 19 and the HDD interface25. When it has been designated to reproduce the contents stored in theHDD 26, the decoder 13 receives the AV data from the HDD 26 through theHDD interface 25 and the bus 19, separates the AV data into thecompressed video data and the compressed audio data, and outputs them tothe composer 17 or to the mixer 15.

A RAM (random access memory) 14 saves the work data executed by thedecoder 13.

The composer 17, as required, synthesizes the video data input from thedecoder 13 and the picture data input from a graphic process controller18 together, and outputs them to a display 33. The display 33 displays(reproduces) the video signals fed from the computer 17. The speaker 32outputs audio signals fed from the mixer 15.

A U/I (user interface) control unit 16 is a module for processing theinput operation by the user. When, for example, the user operates aremote commander 31 constituted by operation buttons or switches, anoperation signal (IR signal) emitted from an infrared ray emittingportion (not shown) is received by a light-receiving unit 16a and isoutput to the CPU 21.

The CPU 21 is a main controller for controlling the operation of thehard disk recorder 1 as a whole, and executes a variety of applicationson a platform provided by an operating system (OS). The CPU 21 recordsor reproduces the contents by controlling the tuner 11, demodulator unit12, decoder 13 and HDD 26 based upon the operation signals input fromthe remote commander 31 through, for example, the U/I control unit 16and the bus 19.

Relying upon the broadcast data such as EPG, further, the CPU 21 forms ascheduling unit for each of the contents stored in the HDD 26, outputsit to the HDD 26 through the bus 19 and the HDD interface 25 to store ittherein, and reads the scheduling unit saved in the HDD 26 and rewritesit as required.

The HDD 26 is a storage unit which is randomly accessible and is capableof storing program and data in a file form of a predetermined format,and has a large capacity of about several tens of GB (or not smallerthan 100 GB). The HDD 26 is connected to the bus 19 via the HDDinterface 25, receives broadcast contents and data to be broadcast suchas EPG data from the decoder 13 or a communication control unit 20,records these data, and outputs the recorded data as required.

The graphic process controller 18 is a dedicated controller for formingpicture data, and is equipped with a highly precise drawing functioncorresponding to, for example, SVGA (super video graphic array) or XGA(extended graphic array). The graphic process controller 18 forms, forexample, a GUI (graphical user interface) operation screen onto whichthe user is allowed to input a variety of settings.

The communication control unit 20 controls the wireless communication orthe wired communication using a telephone circuit or a cable. Uponeffecting the communication with a server system that is not shownthrough the communication control unit 20, the broadcast contents or theEPG data are exchanged. The broadcast contents input to thecommunication control unit 20 are further input to the decoder 13through the bus 19, and are processed in the same manner as thebroadcast data input through the tuner 11 and the demodulator unit 12.Upon effecting the communication with an external unit through thecommunication control unit 20, further, it is allowed to receive thedata related to the contents without containing EPG data, such as groundwave broadcast. The data input to the communication control unit 20 aresaved in the HDD 26 through the bus 19 and the HDD interface 25.

A RAM (random access memory) 22 is a writable volatile memory used forloading an execution program of the CPU 21 and for writing the work dataof the execution program. A ROM (read only memory) 23 is a read onlymemory for storing a self diagnosis/initialization program executed whenthe power source of the hard disk recorder 1 is turned on, and controlcodes for operating the hardware.

An IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394interface (I/F) 24 is a serial high-speed interface capable oftransmitting and receiving data of about several tens of MBps. A videocamera 34 corresponding to IEEE 1394 is connected to an IEEE 1394 port24 a.

A DVD drive 35 reads the data recorded in a DVD 36 and writes the datainto the DVD 36. The data of contents recorded in the HDD 26 are copiedand saved in the DVD 36.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the constitution of functionalmodules in the CPU 21 and in the HDD 26 in the hard disk recorder 1.

An input operation detector unit 50 in the CPU 21 detects the inputoperation by the user processed by the U/I control unit 16.

A user ID recognition unit 51 in the CPU 21 obtains a user ID generatedfrom the remote commander 31 operated by the user, and makes sure whothe user is depending upon the user ID that is obtained.

A state transition detector unit 52 in the CPU 21 detects the transitionof state of the contents based on the input operation detected by theinput operation detector unit 50.

A metric value-setting unit 53 in the CPU 21 sets a reference valuewhich is a metric value for the transition of the state of contentsaccompanying the operation of the remote commander 31 by the user. Amethod of setting a metric value by the metric value-setting unit 53will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

A metric value conversion unit 54 in the CPU 21 converts the transitionof the state of contents detected by the state transition detector unit52 into a metric value based upon a table of reference values of metricvalues corresponding to the transition of the state set by the metricvalue-setting unit 53.

A display control unit 55 in the CPU 21 judges, based on the input fromthe input operation unit 50, whether it is instructed by the user todisplay the metric value. When it is instructed, the display controlunit reads the metric value recorded in a contents operation historydatabase 61, and displays it on the display 33.

The contents operation history database 61 in the HDD 26 accumulates andrecords the metric values converted by a metric value conversion unit54.

Next, described below with reference to FIG. 3 is the operation of thecontents management processing.

At step S1, the input operation detector unit 50 judges whether there isan input operation by the user from the remote commander 31. If there isno input operation by the user, the input operation detector unit 50waits until there is an input operation. If there is the inputoperation, the input operation detector unit 50 outputs the receivedsignal to the user ID recognition unit 51 and to the state transitiondetector unit 52.

At step S2, the user ID recognition unit 51 recognizes the user ID fromthe received signal. That is, the remote commander 31 is allocated tothe individual users. When operated, the remote commander 31 puts itsown (user's) ID and outputs a signal corresponding to the operation,enabling the ID to be recognized. If the history is not required for theindividual user (e.g., if the history needs be the one for a unit offamily),the user ID recognition processing may be omitted.

At step S3, the state transition detector unit 52 judges whether theinput operation by the user is for selecting the contents. If the inputoperation by the user is for selecting the contents, the processingproceeds to step S8. If the input operation by the user is not forselecting the contents, the processing proceeds to step S4.

At step S4, the state transition detector unit 52 judges whether theinput operation by the user is for making a reservation for recordingthe contents in the HDD 26. If the input operation by the user is formaking a reservation for recording the contents in the HDD 26, theprocessing proceeds to step S8. If the input operation by the user isnot for making a reservation for recording the contents in the HDD 26,the processing proceeds to step S5.

At step S5, the state transition detector unit 52 judges whether theinput operation by the user is for making a reservation for recordingthe contents in the DVD 36. If the input operation by the user is formaking a reservation for recording the contents in the DVD 36, theprocessing proceeds to step S8. If the input operation by the user isnot for making a reservation for recording the contents in the DVD 36,the processing proceeds to step S6.

At step S6, the state transition detector unit 52 judges whether theinput operation by the user is for reproducing the contents. If theinput operation by the user is for reproducing the contents, theprocessing proceeds to step S8. If the input operation by the user isnot for reproducing the contents, the processing proceeds to step S7.

At step S7, the state transition detector unit 52 judges whether theinput operation by the user is for disposing of the contents. If theinput operation by the user is for disposing of the contents, theprocessing proceeds to step S8.

At step S8, the state transition detector unit 52 outputs, to the metricvalue conversion unit 54, the results of recognition of the inputoperations recognized in the processings of steps S3 to S7, and obtainsthe ID of contents now being processed from the EPG data. The EPG dataare obtained in advance by the communication control unit 20 from theserver system, and are recorded in the HDD 26.

At step S9, the metric value conversion unit 54 converts the result ofrecognition at the state transition detector unit 52 into a metric valuebased on a reference value that has been set in advance by the metricvalue-setting unit 53. The details thereof will be described later withreference to FIG. 4. When the metric value has been operated already forthe same contents, the metric value conversion unit 54 accumulates themetric values and outputs them to the contents operation historydatabase 61.

At step S10, the contents operation history database 61 records themetric values converted by the metric value conversion unit 54. That is,the operation history of contents by the user is recorded as acumulative value of metric values.

At step S11, the display control unit 55 judges, based on theinstruction from the user, whether the operation history of contents bedisplayed. When the operation history of contents is to be displayed,the processing proceeds to step S12. When the operation history ofcontents is not to be displayed, the processing returns back to step S1.

At step S12, the display control unit 55 reads the operation history ofcontents from the contents operation history database 61, and displaysit on the display 33. The processing, then, returns back to step S1 torepeat the subsequent processings.

Described below next with reference to FIG. 4 is a method of setting areference metric value by the metric value-setting unit 53. Prior toexecuting the processing illustrated in FIG. 3, the user sets, inadvance, a reference value described below. The reference value can bechanged, as required, by the user.

When the input operation is the “selection of contents” 71, thereference metric value is set to be, for example, “0”. The contents canbe transited from this state into three states. The three states ofcontents include “reservation of recording into HDD” 72, “reservation ofrecording into DVD” 73 and “disposal” 75. Here, the “reservation ofrecording into HDD” 72 stands for a transition state of making areservation for recording into the HDD 26 and, then, the data are reallyrecorded into the HDD 26. The “reservation of recording into DVD” 73stands for a transition state of making a reservation for recording intothe DVD 36 and, then, the data are really recorded into the DVD 36. Themeaning of the “disposal” 75 will be described later with reference toFIG. 6.

A reference metric value corresponding to the transition from the stateof “selection of contents” 71 into the “reservation of recording intoHDD” 72 is, for example, “2”. Reference metric values corresponding tothe transition from the state of “selection of contents” 71 into the“reservation of recording into DVD” 73 and to the transition from thestate of “selection of contents” 71 into the “disposal” 75 are, forexample, “3” and “0”, respectively.

It is now presumed that the state of contents is transited from the“selection of contents” 71 into the “reservation of recording into HDD”72. The contents can be transited from this state into three states. Thethree states of contents include “reservation of recording into DVD” 73,“reproduction” 74 and “disposal” 75.

A reference metric value corresponding to the transition from the stateof “reservation of recording into HDD” 72 into the “reservation ofrecording into DVD” 73 is, for example, “3”. Reference metric valuescorresponding to the transition from the state of “reservation ofrecording into HDD” 72 into the “reproduction” 74 and to the transitionfrom the state of “reservation of recording into HDD” 72 into the“disposal” 75 are, for example, “2” and “−2”, respectively.

It is further presumed that the state of contents is transited from thestate of “selection of contents” 71 into the “reservation of recordinginto DVD” 73. The contents can be transited from this state into twostates. The two states of contents include the “reproduction” 74 and the“disposal” 75.

A reference metric value corresponding to the transition from the stateof “reservation of recording into DVD” 73 into the “reproduction” 74 is,for example, “2”. A reference metric value corresponding to thetransition from the state of “reservation of recording into DVD” 73 intothe “disposal” 75 is, for example, “−3”.

It is presumed that the state of contents is transited from the state of“reservation of recording into HDD” 72 or “reservation of recording intoDVD” 73 into the “reproduction” 74. The contents can be transited fromthis state into two states. The two states of contents include the“reproduction” 74 and the “disposal” 75.

A reference metric value corresponding to the transition from the stateof “reproduction” 74 into the “reproduction” 74 is, for example, “2”. Areference metric value corresponding to the transition from the state of“reproduction” 74 into the “disposal” 75 is, for example, “0”.

As described above, the metric value-setting unit 53 sets a referencemetric value of a given integer for the state of the contents and forthe user's input operation for the transition.

At step S9 in FIG. 3 as described above, the metric value conversionunit 54 reads, from the metric value-setting unit 53, a reference valuecorresponding to the transition of the state detected by the statetransition detector unit 52, and outputs it. When, for example, areservation is made to record the selected contents into the HDD 26, ametric value “2” is output. When a reservation is made to record thecontents recorded in the HDD 26 into the DVD 36, a metric value “3” isoutput.

FIG. 5 illustrates exemplarily changes in the metric values that changeaccompanying a change in the state of the contents. In this example,reference values are so set that when reservation is made to finallyrecord the contents in the HDD 26, the cumulative metric value becomesan even number and when the reservation is made to record in the DVD 36,the cumulative metric value becomes an odd number.

When a reservation has been made to finally record the contents in theHDD 26, there are two transition patterns, i.e., row A and row B in FIG.5. A feature resides in that a metric value accumulated depending uponthe transition finally becomes an even number. In the case of the row.A, the contents are transited to three states, i.e., from the “selectionof contents” 71 to “reservation of recording into HDD 26” 72 to“disposal” 75. At this moment, the cumulative metric valuescorresponding to the transitions of the state of contents vary into “0”,“2” and “0”.

Similarly, in the case of the row B, the contents are transited to fivestates, i.e., from the “selection of contents” 71 to “reservation ofrecording into HDD” 72 to “reproduction” 74 to “reproduction” 74 to“reproduction” 74. At this moment, the cumulative metric valuescorresponding to the transitions of the state of contents vary into “0”,“2”, “4”, “6” and “8”.

Next, when a reservation has been made to finally record the contents inthe DVD 36, there are two transition patterns, i.e., row C and row D inFIG. 5. A feature resides in that a metric value accumulated dependingupon the transition finally becomes an odd number. In the case of therow C, the contents are transited to five states, i.e., from the“selection of contents” 71 to “reservation of recording into DVD” 73 to“reproduction” 74 to “reproduction” 74 to “reproduction” 74. At thismoment, the accumulated metric values corresponding to the transitionsof the state of contents vary into “0”“3”, “5”, “7” and 9”.

Similarly, in the case of the row D, the contents are transited to fivestates, i.e., from the “selection of contents” 71 to “reservation ofrecording into HDD” 72 to “reproduction” 74 to “reservation of recordinginto DVD” 73 to “reproduction” 74. At this moment, the cumulative metricvalues corresponding to the transitions of the state of contents varyinto “0”, “2”, “4”, “7” and “9”.

Thus, depending upon the cumulative metric value that assumes an evennumber (contents are recorded in the HDD 26) or an odd number (contentsare recorded in the DVD 36), the position where the contents arerecorded can be judged from the metric value.

Described below with reference to FIG. 6 is the “disposal” 75 which isone of the states of contents in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, there are fiveroutes of transition to the “disposal” 75 which is a state of contents.

A first route is when the “selection of contents” 71 is cancelled whilethe state of contents is the “selection of contents” 71. A second routeis when the “reservation of recording” 81 is cancelled while the stateof contents is transited from the “selection of contents” 71 to the“reservation of recording” 81. Here, the “reservation of recording” 81stands for a reservation of recording, i.e., “reservation of recordinginto HDD” 72 or “reservation of recording into DVD” 73 in FIG. 4, andthere are two states of contents.

A third route is when the “recording” 82 is erased while the state ofcontents is transited from the “reservation of recording” 81 to the“recording” 82. Here, the “recording” 82 stands for a state of beingrecorded after the reservation of recording, i.e., after the“reservation of recording into HDD” 72 or the “reservation of recordinginto DVD” 73 in FIG. 4, and there are two states of contents. A fourthroute is when the “reproduction” 74 is erased while the state ofcontents is transited from the “recording” 82 to the “reproduction” 74.A fifth route is when the “recording (saving) into DVD” 83 is erasedwhile the state of contents is transited from the “reproduction” 74 tothe “recording (saving) into DVD” 83. Here, the “recording (saving) intoDVD” 83 stands for a state of recording and saving the contents in theDVD 36 after “reservation of recording into DVD” 73 in FIG. 4.

As described above, the above five states of contents are all the stateof contents, i.e., “disposal” 75 in FIG. 4. However, the referencemetric value for the transition of the state of contents differsdepending upon the kind of input operation by the user. For example,cancellation of the “reservation of recording” 81 is to cancel the stateof reservation of recording, i.e., is to cancel the “reservation ofrecording into HDD” 72 or to cancel the “reservation of recording intoDVD” 73. Therefore, a reference metric value for the transition becomes“−2” or “−3”, and the cumulative metric value is subtracted.

Cancellation of the “recording” 82 is to cancel the state of recordingafter the reservation of recording, i.e., after the “reservation ofrecording into HDD” 72 or after the “reservation of recording into DVD”73. Therefore, a reference metric value for the transition becomes “−2”or “−3”, and the cumulative metric value is subtracted.

Further, when the “recording (saving) into DVD” 83 is cancelled, therecording state is cancelled after the reservation of recording which is“reservation of recording into DVD” 73. Therefore, a reference metricvalue for the transition becomes “−3” and the cumulative metric value issubtracted. The metric value for the transition to “DISPOSAL” 75 otherthan the above becomes 0.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a structure of operation history datarecorded in the contents operation history database 61 by the metricvalue conversion unit 54.

The “Vers.” 91 represents the selection of a number of times operated bythe user concerning the contents, which is detected by the statetransition detector unit 52. The “user ID” 92 is an ID number foridentifying the user and is recognized by the user ID recognition unit51. The “contents ID” 93 is detected by the state transition detectorunit 52.

The “date and hour of initial selection” 94 represents the date and hourof when the user has selected the contents for the first time, and isdetected by the state transition detector unit 52. The “latest date andhour of state transition” 95 represents the latest date and hour of whenthe state of contents is transited, and is detected by the statetransition detector unit 52. The “state number” 96 represents the statenumber (e.g., “recording into HDD” 72 in FIG. 4) of the state ofcontents, and is detected by the state transition detector unit 52. The“cumulative metric value” 97 represents the accumulated metric value dueto the transition of the state of contents, and is operated by themetric value conversion unit 54.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example of structure of the operation historydata. In this case, the “selection method” 111 and the “genre name” 112are added to the structure of operation history data of FIG. 7. This isfor adding, as data, the depth of relationship to particular operationsof the user. For this purpose, the metric value-setting unit 53 sets thedepths of relation between the operation and the user as metric values,and records them as numerical values.

The “selection method” 111 describes a method of selecting the contents,such as retrieval, contents table of EPG, contents navigation andcomments for recommending the contents. The “genre name” 112 describesthe name of genre of when the contents are retrieved.

As described above, the depth of relationship to particular operationsby the user can be added as detailed data to the structure of operationhistory data.

The structure of operation history data are suitably read out and areanalyzed by an application for analyzing the liking of the user. Basedon the results of analysis, the contents that meet the liking of theuser are, then, automatically recorded.

In the foregoing, the contents were obtained by the tuner 11. Theinvention can be applied even when the contents delivered through theinternet or any other network are to be obtained. Further, the inventionwas described when it was applied to the hard disk recorder. Theinvention, however, can also be applied even when it is applied to thedata processing apparatus other than the hard disk recorder.

The above series of processings can be executed relying upon thehardware or the software. When a series of processings are executed bythe software, a program constituting the software can be installed froma program storage medium into a computer incorporated in a dedicatedhardware or into a general-purpose personal computer that is capable ofexecuting a variety of functions upon installing various kinds ofprograms.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating exemplarily the constitution of apersonal computer for executing the above processings. In FIG. 9, a CPU131 executes a variety of processings according to a program stored in aROM 132 or according to a program loaded into a RAM 133 from a storageunit 138. The RAM 133 further stores the data necessary for the CPU 131to execute a variety of processings.

The CPU 131, ROM 132 and RAM 133 are connected to each other through abus 134. To the bus 134 is further connected an input/output interface135.

To the input/output interface 135, there are connected an input unit 136comprising a keyboard and a mouse, a display comprising a CRT and anLCD, an output unit 137 comprising a speaker, the storage unit 138constituted by a hard disk, and a communication unit 139 constituted bya modem and a terminal adapter. The communication unit 139 executes acommunication processing through a network inclusive of an internet (notshown), and a communication processing with a corresponding broadcastreceiving/recording device (not shown).

As required, further, a drive 140 is connected to the input/outputinterface 135. There are further suitably mounted a magnetic disk 151,an optical disk 152, a magnet-optic disk 153 and a semiconductor memory154, and computer programs read out therefrom are, as required,installed in the storage unit 138.

Referring to FIG. 9, a program storage medium for storing a program thatis installed in a computer and can be executed by the computer, isconstituted by the magnetic disk 151 (inclusive of a floppy disk), theoptical disk 152 (inclusive of CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory),DVD (digital versatile disk)), the magnet-optic disk 153 (inclusive ofMD (mini-disk)), a package medium constituted by the semiconductormemory 154, the ROM 132 which temporarily or permanently stores theprogram, or a hard disk which constitutes the storage unit 138. Theprogram is stored in the program storage medium, as required, via aninterface such as router or modem by utilizing a wired or wirelesscommunication medium, such as local area network, internet or digitalsatellite broadcast.

In this specification, the steps for describing a program stored in theprogram storage medium include not only the processings that areexecuted in time series along the described order but also theprocessings which are not necessarily executed in time series but areexecuted in parallel or individually.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the invention accumulate the histories of operation.In particular, the invention decreases the capacity. The invention,further, decreases the scale of the apparatus and suppresses an increasein the cost.

1. A data processing apparatus characterized by comprising: contentsID-obtaining mechanism for obtaining IDs of the contents that areobtained; detector for detecting the transition of the state ofcontents; converter for converting the transition of the state ofcontents detected by the detector into a metric value; and recordingmechanism for recording the metric value converted by the convertertogether with the IDs of the contents.
 2. A data processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the recording mechanismaccumulates the metric values to record the operation history of thecontents.
 3. A data processing apparatus according to claim 1,characterized by further comprising user ID-obtaining mechanism forobtaining a user ID, wherein the recording mechanism further records theuser ID.
 4. A data processing method for a data processing apparatusthat reproduces the recorded contents, characterized by including thesteps of: obtaining IDs of the contents that are obtained; detecting thetransition of the state of contents; converting the transition of thestate of contents detected in the step of detection into a metric value;and recording the metric value converted in the step of conversiontogether with the IDs of the contents.
 5. A recording medium recording acomputer-readable program for reproducing the recorded contents, theprogram characterized by including the steps of: obtaining IDs of thecontents that are obtained; detecting the transition of the state ofcontents; converting the transition of the state of contents detected inthe step of detection into a metric value; and recording the metricvalue converted in the step of conversion together with the IDs of thecontents.
 6. A program for reproducing the recorded contents,characterized by executing the steps of: obtaining IDs of the contentsthat are obtained; detecting the transition of the state of contents;converting the transition of the state of contents detected in the stepof detection into a metric value; and recording the metric valueconverted in the step of conversion together with the IDs of thecontents.